Chapter 4

Chapter FOUR 'It wasn't just me!' I said, staring in horror at the camera which was now lying right by the bittens' basket. It was too far away for me to be able to grab it. The bittens all scampered over to it, sniffing and licking it, very interested in this new thing that had appeared in their enclosure. 'Miss Spindlewick will be so cross!'

第四章“不只是我！”我说着，惊恐地盯着摄像机，摄像机就放在被咬人的篮子旁边。 它离我太远了，我无法抓住它。 所有被咬的狗都向它跑来，嗅着，舔着，对这个出现在它们领地里的新东西很感兴趣。 “斯平德威克小姐会大发雷霆的！”

wailed Lavinia. 'What are we going to do?' Then she burst into tears. 'I've never been in trouble with Miss Spindlewick before!' she said. 'Never!'

拉维尼娅哀泣。“我们该怎么办？”然后她突然哭了起来。 “我从来没有跟斯平德威克小姐惹过麻烦！”她说。 “从来没有!”

'Oh,' I said, thinking back to her worried face. Now it all made sense. Lavinia was Miss Spindlewick's star pupil. The expectation to be perfect all the time must feel like a lot of pressure. I couldn't help feeling a tiny bit sorry for her. 'It's OK,' I said, reaching out my hand to pat her arm. 'We'll get it back and Miss Spindlewick will never know!' 'But how?' said Lavinia. 'We'll do a spell to unlock the gate,' I said. 'I'll slip in and grab the camera, and then I'll lock the gate again. No one will know!' 'A spell to unlock the gate?' gasped Lavinia. 'That would be really naughty!'

“哦，”我说，回想起她焦虑的脸。 现在一切都说得通了。拉维尼娅是斯平德威克小姐的得意门生。 一直保持完美的期望一定会给你带来很大的压力。 我不禁为她感到一丝遗憾。 “没关系，”我说，伸出手拍了拍她的胳膊。 “我们会把它拿回来的，斯平德威克小姐永远不会知道！”“可是怎么做呢？”拉维尼娅说。 “我们来施个咒语把大门打开。”我说。 “我溜进去，拿起相机，然后再锁上门。 没人会知道的！“打开大门的咒语？”拉维尼娅喘着气说。 “那就太淘气了！”

'I know,' I said. 'But Miss Spindlewick never has to know. Would you rather leave the camera there and get into trouble?' Lavinia stared at me, her face pale. 'No,' she whispered. 'Then let's just do a quick spell,' I said. 'But I didn't bring any potion ingredients,' said Lavinia. 'I didn't expect to have to do a spell!' 'That's OK,' I said. 'I've got emergency potion ingredients with me! You never know when you might need to get out of a situation.' I reached into my top and pulled out a necklace that had a row of tiny bottles on it. Lavinia stared at it in admiration.

“我知道，”我说。“但是斯平德威克小姐永远不必知道。 难道你宁愿把相机丢在那儿而惹上麻烦吗？”拉维尼娅盯着我，脸色苍白。 “不，”她低声说。“那我们就快速念个咒语吧，”我说。 “可我没有带任何魔药的配料。”拉维尼娅说。 “我没想到还要念咒语！”“没关系，”我说。 “我带了紧急药剂的配料！”你永远不知道什么时候你可能需要摆脱困境。”我把手伸进上衣，拿出一条项链，上面有一排小瓶子。 拉维尼娅羡慕地盯着它。

'That's brilliant!' she said. I took the necklace off and let her look at it. She gazed at the tiny bottles for a while before saying, 'Crushed moonrock and powdered bat's claw should do it. We can mix them up in the lid of my flask.' Together we opened the tiny, potion bottles and poured the ingredients into the lid of Lavinia's flask, mixing them up with a twig that we found nearby. 'You chant the spell,' I said to Lavinia. 'You always get top marks in potions class. It's got more chance of going right if you do it.'

这是辉煌!她说。 我把项链摘下来让她看。 她盯着小瓶子看了一会儿，然后说：“月光石碎和蝙蝠爪粉应该可以了。 我们可以在我的烧瓶盖里把它们混合起来。”我们一起打开小药瓶，把配料倒进拉维尼娅的烧瓶盖里，和我们在附近找到的一根小树枝混合在一起。 “你念咒语。”我对拉维尼娅说。 “你在魔药课上总是得最高分。 如果你这样做，事情就更有可能顺利进行。”

'OK,' said Lavinia, 'But you have to promise you won't tell Miss Spindlewick that I've done a secret spell.' 'Of course, I won't!' I said, shocked. 'I'm not a tell-tale!' Lavinia smiled at me and I swore I could see tiny sparkles of excitement dancing in her eyes. Then she started to chant:

“好吧，”拉维尼娅说，“但你得保证不告诉斯平德威克小姐我施了一个秘密咒语。“我当然不会！”我震惊地说。 “我不是一个泄密者！”拉维尼娅对我微笑，我发誓我能看到她眼中闪烁着兴奋的光芒。 然后她开始吟唱：